


Reincarnation

by hotchoco195



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Established Friends with Benefits situation, Frenemies, M/M, New OTP, Post-Iron Man 2, Pride, Prison, Remorse, Rivals, Second Chances, So much angst, like immediately post
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 09:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1505684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotchoco195/pseuds/hotchoco195
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Interrogation and introspection are not mutually exclusive.</p><p>Or in which Hammer is an idiot, not a villain, and Tony understands the value of learning from your mistakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reincarnation

This is not exactly how Justin pictured this night. He thought he’d show off some flashy drones, impress the army types and rub his success in Tony’s face a bit. Nothing too nasty, just a little friendly competition. Maybe partnering up with a guy who tried to kill him wasn’t the smartest...but he never wanted to hurt Tony. He never wanted to hurt anyone.

Bit strange for a weapons designer, yeah, but it was true.

And now here he was in a Queens police station, hands cuffed behind his back in a tiny interrogation room that stunk of other people’s sweat because he was apparently too valuable to throw in an ordinary cell. His sense of hygiene was seriously offended but he was sort of grateful for the special treatment. God knows he didn’t deserve it. Justin sat in the chair, unable to even contemplate sleep, envisioning the walls of his former life crashing down around him. He was going to prison. _Prison_. And all because he couldn’t let Tony have the spotlight.

Well fucking good job, he scoffed. Cos no one will ever forget who you are now.

The door opened with a painful squeak and he looked up wearily at one of the detectives who’d brought him in.

“You’ve got a visitor.”

“I didn’t call anyone.” Justin frowned.

The cop shrugged like he really couldn’t give a shit and Hammer sucked in a tense breath. Maybe he wasn’t going to prison after all – maybe it was much, much worse. But then the detective moved aside and it was an exhausted and battered Tony standing in the doorway, and Justin couldn’t breathe.

His shirt was soaked in sweat and ripped in places, black smudges on his face. He hadn’t even taken time to change or clean up. Tony’s eyes blazed with the most intense anger Justin had ever seen, in Stark or anyone, the dark pupils seeming to swallow everything in their path. His jaw twitched constantly, grimly set.

“Leave us.”

“Mr Stark-”

He cocked a brow at the detective like ‘you really gonna argue with Iron Man?’ and the man scuttled out, closing the door behind him carefully.

“Tony-”

“Shut. Up.”

Justin wisely pressed his lips together as the other man pulled out the chair facing him and sat, a hand resting on the table top. His whole body was stiff, like he was holding himself back.

“Just hit me.” Justin said weakly.

“What?”

“It’s what you came here to do, right? You’d be justified. I almost got you killed.”

“Me and a lot of people, Hammer.”

He hung his head, toe scuffing along the floor under the table. Tony growled and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up.

“That’s it? You’re not gonna say anything?”

“I can’t make excuses for this.”

 

The billionaire leaned back, folding his arms. “I’d settle for some kind of reasoning. Tell me you didn’t really believe Vanko was just gonna be a good lapdog and do what you asked.”

“I didn’t know! You have to believe me Tony, I never wanted you to get hurt. I never wanted that for anyone, but the guy’s a psycho!”

“ _Was_ a psycho, and you should have known better.”

He bit his lip. “You’re right. I should have known. Maybe I did but I just ignored it because...because I was so hung up on looking like the better man.”

“Instead of actually being one.” Tony snorted viciously.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Justin said in a very small voice, “I should have ditched my pride and been happy you were out of the game. I should never have gone to that Senate hearing.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. Then I wouldn’t have had to publicly spank you.”

“It hurt, Tony.”

“So you decided to what, destroy my big show and hurt me back? Real mature, Hammer!”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk about maturity? You stole your own Formula 1 car for kicks!”

“Why would you do this to me, huh? After all we’ve been through, after all the shit with Obie and having to fucking redefine myself. Why would you try to take that away from me?”

Justin could hear the very real distress in his question. He’d hired Vanko to make Tony feel even a fraction of the humiliation and helplessness he’d felt at the Senate, and here it looked like he’d actually succeeded in wounding the genius. It wasn’t as satisfying as he’d imagined.

“I’m sorry, Tony. I can’t take it back but God, I wish I could.”

“I thought you of all people wouldn’t want to _fucking destroy_ me.”

Justin didn’t respond. It was true. They weren’t exactly bitter enemies and he’d seen enough of what Afghanistan and Stane did to Tony to want to spare him more of that shit. In theory.

“I know there have been some rough patches since I got back. Some distance,” Tony sighed, “I lashed out at a lot of people and pushed others away. We both know which category you fell into. I’m sorry I’m an emotionally retarded man-child. But this shit...”

“Tony.” He said simply, not sure what to do to wipe that profound sorrow off his face. Maybe there was nothing he could do. Tony had a history of being betrayed, and now Justin had put himself firmly on that list.

“I always knew that our professional lives and our personal lives were separate, that whatever happened between us in private didn’t count out there. I guess I didn’t realise how seriously you took the distinction.”

He blinked rapidly behind his glasses, shaking his head. “You know that’s not true. I respect ya, Tony. In public and private. If I let myself get jealous and spiteful that’s on me. I take the responsibility for my own moronic idea.”

“Oh good, glad to see you still have enough functioning brain cells to realise exactly how stupid it was.”

“Yeah, well you’ve always been the smart one.”

Tony smiled sadly and Justin’s heart almost creaked in his chest. This was it. Tony would get up and leave and Justin would never see him again, never touch him again, never feel the full force of that Stark charm focused only on him. He couldn’t believe he’d ever been so petty about a few barbs (that were admittedly accurate).

 

Tony leaned over the table, the poor lighting casting deep lines across his face. “Why didn’t you use your phone call?”

“Didn’t seem worth it just yet. I’m pretty sure international arms dealers with military contracts don’t get bail. Flight risk.”

“Not for a lawyer. Why didn’t you call me?”

He blinked, mouth gaping like some pathetic fish for a moment. “I didn’t think you’d ever want to hear from me again.”

“Maybe. But you could have given me the option. You could have been a man instead of a coward and tried to explain yourself – to apologise.”

“What does it look like I’m tryin’ to do?” Justin exploded.

“It looks to me like you’re tryin’ to slink off and hide in some dark little cell where you never have to face me or anyone else ever again. Where you can push away all those little flaws you hate about yourself and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist.”

“I endangered hundreds of people, Tony. I helped a violent maniac escape prison, which resulted in more than a few casualties itself you know, and I gave him the tools and the opportunity to kill you!” his chest heaved, “I’m not hiding from anything, I’m staying where I belong!”

“You think you belong in jail?”

“Yes!” he furrowed his brow scornfully, “That’s where bad people go.”

“And what’s it gonna achieve, Jus? You can’t fix anything from there.”

The use of his nickname in those familiar scratchy tones made his mouth suddenly dry but Justin shook his head. “This can’t be fixed, Tony.”

“No, I dare say it can’t. But you can fucking try.”

“How?” he sighed, too tired to fight at this point.

“Salvage what’s left of your reputation and your industry cred. Make amends to the people you’ve wronged. Help us catch more people like Vanko.”

“What?” Justin frowned.

“You let the business get to your head instead of focusing on what counts. I know how it goes – it happened to me too, remember? Took three months in a cave to sort out my priorities. Maybe this is your cave.” He waved a hand at the grey walls around them.

“You think I should become a superhero too?” he scoffed.

“No. But you should strip back Hammer Systems to its bare bones and start making something good again. You should use your resources to help people instead of being so concerned what I think of you.”

“Tony, there is no more Hammer Systems. The CEO just got arrested.”

“So? Like I’ve never been in trouble before.”

“This isn’t some renegade press conference or sex scandal, Tony. My shares will tank, my contracts will disappear – I’ll have nothing to build from.”

“You managed to create something once. I don’t see why you can’t do it again.”

 

Tony stood, eyes still boring into Justin’s.

“I’m gonna clear as much of this up as I can, and then you’re on your own, okay? Use your time on something more worthwhile.”

Justin could taste a hint of hope like fresh air, a glimmer of light that maybe he wasn’t completely doomed. If Tony was offering him a chance at redemption, he was going to take it with both hands.

“Why are you giving me a second chance after everything I’ve done?”

“I got one,” Tony shrugged, “Only seems fair to pass on the favour.”

He didn’t say anything, chewing the inside of his cheek thoughtfully.

“Look, you’re not a bad guy. An idiot maybe, and seriously fucked up, but I _know_ you wouldn’t want to hurt anyone. And I know what it’s like to trust someone only to find they’ve perverted everything you worked for. Don’t let it happen on your watch again.”

He turned to knock on the door and Justin sat up, handcuffs clinking. “Tony...”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not gonna say thank you. It doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“Okay.”

“Do you think...” he cleared his throat, “Do you think there’s even the slightest chance that someday you might forgive me?”

“Maybe. Ask me in a few years.”

He let himself out, the door slamming shut with a finite thud. Justin swallowed around the huge lump in his throat. He had no right to ask Tony to just get over it, or to take him back. They weren’t lovers, maybe not even friends. Their relationship had always been complicated, rivals who were drawn together by that fierce tension, and Justin had always admired Tony so much he had gone to terrible, extraordinary lengths to get even a skerrick of that admiration in return.

But he saw the folly in that now. Admiration was fleeting, shallow. It was a thing that could change from day to day. If he had to spend the rest of his life becoming someone Tony Stark might instead _respect_ , he would do it. Even if he never got anything out of it. Even if Tony was lost to him forever.

He sat in the stinking, claustrophobic interrogation room of a Queens police station and decided as far as caves went, it could have been worse.


End file.
